cowboycwr said:
Sam Lowry said:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tulsi Gabbard left no doubt when she testified to Congress about Iran's nuclear program earlier this year.
The country was not building a nuclear weapon, the national intelligence director told lawmakers, and its supreme leader had not reauthorized the dormant program even though it had enriched uranium to higher levels.
In her March testimony to lawmakers, Gabbard said the intelligence community "continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003."
And how did a member of Congress get this info? Did she travel to Iran? Did she inspect the country and its capabilities?
Was she playing word play? As in they weren't designing the warhead part but they have been actively working on missiles, which we know they have.
This is an assessment of her testimony as DNI, not as a senator. Testimony was on March 18, 2026 before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Here are some actual excerpts from her opening statements:
"The U.S. secure nuclear deterrent continues to ensure safety in the Homeland against strategic
threats. However, Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan have been researching and
developing an array of novel, advanced, or traditional missile delivery systems with nuclear and
conventional payloads, that put our Homeland within range. The IC assesses that threats to the
Homeland will expand collectively to more than 16,000 missiles by 2035, from the current
assessed figure of more than 3,000 missiles."
?Iran has previously demonstrated space launch and other technology it could
use to begin to develop a militarily viable ICBM before 2035, should Tehran attempt to pursue
the capability. However, these assessments will be updated as the full impact of Operation Epic
Fury's devastating strikes on Iran's missile production facilities, stockpiles, and launch
capabilities is determined."
This is the paragraph quoted as saying Iran wasn't pursuing a nuclear weapon:
"As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran's nuclear enrichment program was obliterated.
There has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability. The entrances
to the underground facilities that were bombed have been buried and shuttered with cement.
We continue to monitor for any early indicators on what position the current or any new
leadership in Iran will take with regard to authorizing a nuclear weapons program."
March 19, 2026 statement excerpt:
"Even so, Iran and its proxies continue to attack US and allied interests in the Middle East. If a hostile regime survives, it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its military, missiles, and UAV forces. Prior to Operation Epic Fury, the IC assesses Iran was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure sustained during the 12-day war. Iran maintained the intention to rebuild its infrastructure and nuclear enrichment capability and continued to refuse to comply with its nuclear obligations with the IAEA, refusing them access to key facilities."